Comments

That is a novel approach! Teaching Aristotle through nursery rhymes or vice versa?

mom from denver commented on 11-Jan-2011 02:53 PM

Interesting approach. I like that include how your son was behaving during "class time." did he get all the points you were making?

Clara commented on 11-Jan-2011 03:08 PM

Good question about whether Jack "got" all the points. That's one of the reasons I'm keeping these blogs. I will see over time what he learns from our lessons.

hs01 commented on 12-Jan-2011 12:33 PM

Well, this is great but you're basically tutoring one kid. Can this be done with a whole classroom full of kids?

Clara commented on 14-Jan-2011 12:04 PM

@hs01: You're right. It's much easier to teach one kid at a time. The purpose of these blogs is to record an experiment, not to set a model for classroom application. However, I do think my approach, which is more like the approach used in college classrooms, can be applied to k-12 classrooms with some modification. The main challenge is the behavior one. How do you manage to keep kids from distracting each other with their antics -- that I don't know!

Tina commented on 17-Jan-2011 01:55 PM

Good point about the main challenge being the behavior one. Of course keeping the kids interested helps with that. Maybe this approach keeps them more interested.... I really don't know.

While going through emotional breakdowns and making life changes I don’t expect myself to be “teaching” or my son “studying” an awful lot. Math has completely slipped but we do keep on plodding through my version of a liberal arts “curriculum.” As I pick books and read and discuss them with Jack I give education more thought than I probably ever did. I am determined to give my son an excellent education. (Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon… and for the rest of his life.)More

Comments

This is a very interesting blog. It's great to read something with a bit of brain behind it. thank you Clara!

Hilde commented on 21-Jun-2010 12:29 PM

I like your philosophy of education! It makes a lot of sense. I really enjoy your blogs.

SF Mom commented on 21-Jun-2010 04:33 PM

What a great piece! I love it. You are one hell of a teacher Ms. Middleton.

Susan P commented on 22-Jun-2010 08:42 AM

Thank you for these blogs Clara. It really is inspiring to read your thoughts and experineces. It makes me think that I can do it too!!!

Clara commented on 22-Jun-2010 09:48 AM

Susan, thanks for your compliments. I really do think "you can do it too" -- of course you can. It's just a matter of having the time to do it. The teaching and learning part is the easiest part.

JT commented on 30-Jun-2010 02:29 PM

What a great education your kid will end up getting. I think your approach is an excellent approach. But you have to admit that not all families are able to provide their kids with this kind of education. Most people feel very insecure about their own abilities which is a shame. Your kid is very lucky to have a confident mother.

Linda commented on 05-Jul-2010 10:46 AM

I love this. You are so right. I like the idea of the spiral of learning. It's really true.

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When a couple of months ago I told a close friend of mine that I was going to home school Jack she was not at all surprised. “I was expecting it,” she said. I myself had not expected it, how could she?! She said that she sensed I was going in that direction. I swear I was not aware of it myself. But, there’s an old friend for you... I guess when you know someone since seventh grade you sometimes see things about them that they don’t see themselves!
I had been running a homeschooling series by Denny Mather, a contributor on this site. Apart from my professional interest in children’s education though, I had a personal interest in homeschooling because of my nephew Theo who was homeschooled since sixth grade. My sister-in-law, Jean, decided to home school her son when she moved to a small town with a culture her family was not at all used to. Theo was more than miserable. He was getting sick. When Jean decided to pull him out of school and pretty much single-handedly teach him I was kind of shocked – not shocked in disapproval but shocked because I had never seriously thought about homeschooling. I remember thinking smugly to myself, “Poor Jean, I guess that’s what happens when you move to Hicksville: no liberal folks, no decent education.” I thought we privileged people in politically correct, upscale San Francisco have nothing to worry about! Really, I thought exactly that: Nothing to worry about. More

Comments

All power to Jean but I totally understand how you never imagined yourself homeschooling, Clara. I still can't!

mom from denver commented on 23-Apr-2010 02:50 PM

I know what you mean about not having the courage!

Anonymous commented on 23-Apr-2010 03:25 PM

Maybe because you were a teacher you didn't have the courage to home school. You knew what you were getting yourself into!

Clara commented on 25-Apr-2010 11:35 AM

I don't know if having teaching experience scared me off from home schooling as an idea. I'm still thinking about that! But what really happened is that I suddenly found myself having no choice but to yank my kid away from a very destructive environment -- and I had the example of Jean to give me courage to do what I had to do. Having that extra encouragement made a world of difference in giving me confidence and taking away anxiety.

reader commented on 28-Apr-2010 09:42 AM

Travels with Charley is a great book. If this is what home schoolers read then all power to them!